Detroit Lions hiring John Morton as new offensive coordinator

HOUSTON, TX - DECEMBER 03: Denver Broncos pass game coordinator John Morton oversees practice during the football game between Denver Broncos and Houston Texans at NRG Stadium on December 3, 2023 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Leslie Plaza Johnson/Icon
DETROIT (FOX 2) - The Detroit Lions have reset their offensive leader as they're hiring John Morton to run the high-powered offense with Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs, and more.
ESPN's Adam Schefter was the first to report the Lions signed Morton as offensive coordinator. The New York Times reported that the Lions signed Morton, citing a league source. NFL.com also reported the hiring, citing sources from NFL Network insiders Ian Rapaport and Tom Pelissero.
Morton, 55, is an Auburn Hills native who played college football at Western Michigan. He went undrafted in 1993 and spent several years as a practice player on different NFL teams plus a couple of years in the Canadian Football League before starting his coaching career in 1998.
Over the past 25 years, Morton has spent time with the Oakland Raiders and New Orleans Saints, among others.
By the numbers:
In 2022, Morton was in Detroit as a senior offensive assistant before joining Sean Payton's staff in Denver in 2023. This past year, he coached rookie QB Bo Nix to a stellar rookie season with 3,775 yards, 29 touchdowns, and just 12 interceptions.
Besides working under Payton, Morton coached under Jim Harbaugh at the University of San Diego and spent one season as the offensive coordinator of the New York Jets but was fired at the end of the season.
The backstory:
The Lions moved quickly to fill their offensive coordinator role after Ben Johnson left for the Chicago Bears last week. Johnson, who was highly sought out by NFL teams last offseason, opted to return to Detroit.
Lions general manager Brad Holmes said head coach Dan Campbell has been ready to replace Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn because he expected to lose both of them during this coaching cycle. Glenn left for the Jets on the same day Johnson signed with the Bears.
"Dan has been preparing for it and I have the full faith and trust in Dan to make sure that we’re going to have the right people in place in those spots," Holmes said Thursday at his postseason news conference.
While there was not much the Lions could do to convince Johnson and Glenn to stay, they want to keep their top remaining assistants and other staff members even though some of them will have opportunities with the Bears and Jets.
"It’s not only in coaching, it’s in personnel as well," Holmes said. "I’ve always said it’s hard to keep the good ones, but I understand that when guys want to poach guys from our program, you’ve just got to be prepared for it."
The Source: ESPN's Adam Schefter and the New York Times both reported on the hiring of John Morton. It has not been confirmed by the Lions.